Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille's Epic The Ten Commandments [Hardcover]

This is a first rate rendition of how the movie,"The Ten Commandments" was produced from interviews with the actors through the outstanding direction by C.B. DeMille. I especially commend the chapters by Henry Wilcoxen, producer and actor, and actor Clint Walker. Wilcoxen wanted Clint for the role of Joshua and ended up the Captain of the Sardinian Guard when DeMille decided he was too tall and dominated his scenes when compared to the other more famous (at the time) actors. Artist Arnold Friberg had even completed a color sketch of Clint as Joshua. An outstanding piece of work by the author. An interesting list of the actors and actresses considered for the various roles is provided. It would have been interesting to see how the movie would have turned out with William Boyd as Moses, DeMille's first choice. Or Jack Palance as Ramases II. I highly recommend this work to anyone interested in Cecile B. DeMille and Company. Five star rating.

Outstanding. Katherine Orrison has made a long-awaited contribution to the memory of a phenomenal motion picture and the "world's greatest showman...ever" with the release of this book. Only two regrets: 1) although the reflections presented by the various participants were in chronological order for the most part, a narrative thread by the author taking us through the entire production process may have improved the impact of the eyewitness accounts, and 2) from Ken Whitmore's commentary, I'd guess we have only seen a fraction of the photo collection. I would love to read more and see more. Finally, I have yet to hear or read an explanation of why the final cut of the film was allowed to show Moses' staff jump magically from one hand to the other during the Exodus. All that aside, this book is wonderful reading for anyone who remembers the first time they saw this picture unfold on a movie screen.

I first saw The Ten Commandments during its 1971 theatrical rerelease. I was 8. More than any other, this is the film that changed my world, because it set me on the lifelong avocational path of studying Egyptology. My father was the special effects man who did the final animation for John Fulton's (and DeMille's) concept of the Pillar of Fire for the movie, and, beyond my father's few stories of that project, I had very little knowledge about the film's creation. When I bought the DVD and listened to the commentary by Ms. Orrison, I was overjoyed to find out via that commentary that there was actually a book which would fill-in so much of the story. I am so glad I own this book. It not only gives detailed, enjoyable-to-read information about the movie's creation, but it answers the questions of many critics in the Egyptological community as to why the movie takes conscious liberties with history, despite the tremendous volume of research that was done (several years' worth!) before the cameras began to roll. Ms. Orrison recently lectured about the movie to my local chapter of the American Research Center in Egypt (Northern California), and she is every bit as engaging a speaker as she is an author. I also recommend Ms. Orrison's earlier book, Lionheart in Hollywood, which she co-authored with actor/producer Henry Wilcoxon. More insight into Cecil B. DeMille is available in this volume, as well as additional information on the making and promotion of The Ten Commandments. And finally, both books give a wonderful glimpse into a Hollywood culture that is nearly gone today.